Cyber-sheep in the Wild West
by medicinecap
Summary: Ace and the Doctor visit the Wild West where they find all sorts of things out of place. The Doctor starts to face the fact that Ace will leave him someday soon. Ace falls in love. Ace/OC
1. Chapter 1

"I don't know what's wrong," said George Jackson in a western drawl, pushing his hat back from his forehead to reveal a sun-toughened face. "I think I got two herds of sheep: the bad ones and the good ones."

"What's wrong with them?" asked the town veterinarian, surveying the field full of sheep that was before them.

"Well, I got one group that seems real scared of the other group," George explained, pointing to the group of sheep closest to them, all huddled close together. "And then I got the group of sheep who seem kinda scared of me. Or, at least, they won't come anywhere near me." He pointed to the sheep on the far end of the field. They stood unnaturally still and stared at the people.

"That is very strange," the vet agreed. "I don't know what to tell you, because that other group wouldn't let me anywhere near them either. The good group is perfectly healthy, just a little stressed. As for the others, I'd pen them separately and see what they do."

"Alright, Doc," George nodded and patted the man on the back. "I'll take your advice. I sure hope that batch wasn't a bad one. I don't remember even buying them separately, but they all have the same brand tags as my sheep. Must be mine."

"Must be," the vet said. The two men turned away from the sheep and went back to the large wooden ranch house that George's father had built from scratch when he was a little boy.

Unbeknownst to George, the other sheep, the ones that wouldn't let the humans near them, were still watching. Then the alpha sheep's tail rose straight into the air, like an antennae, and it began to make a series of clicking and beeping noises. Someone was getting notifications.

? ? ? ? ?

"What do you think of this one, Professor?" asked Ace, standing in front of the Doctor and twirling around for him to see.

"Yes, very nice," he nodded sagely and smiled. Dorothy "Ace" McShane was wearing a soft brown leather jacket with a beaded design on the back in blue, red, black and yellow, the colors of the American Southwest. On her head there was one of the largest hats she had ever seen. She didn't usually take to hats, but it was hard for anyone to look bad in a cowboy hat. She wore simple blue jeans, but they were offset by cowboy boots. The boots, unlike the rest of her outfit which looked earthy and natural, were bright red and shining new. "Just right for the Wild, Wild West," the Doctor said.

"You don't look so bad yourself," Ace told him. The Doctor looked down at his own costume and decided that, yes, he looked rather well. The pattern didn't differ from his normal jacket, shirt and tie, but the jacket was dark brown for this occasion and he had decided not to wear the sweater-vest covered in question marks. His hat and trousers were the same, though Ace had convinced him to wear cowboy boots as well. He didn't like the way they pinched his toes, but they were practical and looked good.

"Now then, Westward Ho!" He went to the TARDIS control panel and pressed a few buttons, sending them whirling out into space and time.

? ? ? ? ?

"I swear, this town is like a tub with a great big hole in the bottom," Martha, the Irish immigrant told her husband one evening as she prepared supper. He was leaning back in a chair, his boots resting on the table. He had just been reading the town news periodical to her as they did every evening when he came home from working at the ranch.

"What do ya mean, Love?" he asked her.

"Well, things just keep disappearing right and left. First it was the new bell for the church steeple, then it was a wagon that had gone missing. And Jenny Piper told me she lost a brand new hat. Woke up one morning and went to look for it in the hatbox, but it was gone. I was inclined to think she was just being forgetful (you know Jenny) but then I started losing things. Remember how I told you that cheese grater went missing? I still haven't found it, and the water bucket is gone too. Now, to top it off, four people are gone. I never would have thought it."

"You're right," her husband agreed. "There does seem to be a lot gone. I couldn't find my backhoe last week. I'm sure I left it in the barn, but it's not there and hasn't turned up."

"I never would have thought a person would just go missing though, did you? Who is it now, did you say?"

The man held up the paper and read it to her again. "'Lars Jarmon was reported missing by his wife Missy Smith-Jarmon two days ago when he didn't return from work. It was reported that he never even made it to work and disappeared sometime in between six and seven A.M.' It also says how to contact them if you've seen anything of him."

"That's terrible. Poor Missy. She just came from back east four months ago. She must be worried. I should go visit her tonight after supper."

"That's a good idea," her husband agreed. Then he noticed something strange in the corner, something he had never seen before. It had a white ball in a cone attached to the end of a curved metal pole the circumference of his finger. At the base of the pole was a circular stand. It was a lamp without the lampshade, but they didn't know what that was.

"Martha, what is that?" he asked, staring at it and trying to figure out what it was. She looked over at it and shrugged.

"I don't know, I never saw it before in my life."

"Well, I didn't bring it home." He got up and went over to it. Curious, he picked it up. It had a long cable hanging off of it that was forked at the end.

"Strange contraption. I don't much like it."

"Oh, I think it looks sort of interesting and different," Martha came over to him and took it. She turned it over a few times, trying to figure out what it did. She set it on the mantelpiece above the fireplace.

"I think it looks neat. Like something fancy from a big city."

"If you say so," her husband sat down again and sniffed the air. "Say, you almost done cooking? I'm starved."


	2. Chapter 2

The TARDIS materialized behind a building in a run-down and dirty backyard. No one was there to notice it. The engines died down and the Doctor stepped out, Ace close behind him. He looked around and seemed pleased.

"Ah, good old wild west," he said. "Age of gunslingers and saloon girls, where everyone was land-crazy. You aren't allowed to crowd anyone here because there's always more wide open spaces."

"Why does it smell, Doctor?" Ace asked, wrinkling her nose. "It smells like someone's piping is plugged."

"No piping in these days, Ace," he said. "It all goes into the ground, right over there." He pointed to a little wooden outhouse with a moon symbol carved into it. Ace looked at the TARDIS.

"Let's hope no one mistakes the TARDIS for a really posh loo," she said.

They stepped out between two buildings (which turned out to be the general store and pharmaceutical) and it struck Ace just how real this was. When she was travelling with the Doctor it was easy to be wowed by all the running and fighting, but every adventure they always managed to find time to sit back or lie in the grass and appreciate the fact that they were in another time, another place.

Ace watched as cowboys on horseback rode down the center of the street and wagons rolled up to the wooden houses and businesses. Some wagons and buggies were full of families, others had only a driver but were packed with supplies.

"Ah, the west." The Doctor breathed deeply through his nose. "The last era when humans were still satisfied with just the Earth and knew how to use it as efficiently as possible. Waste not, want not."

Ace inhaled deeply and gagged. "I don't know what you're talking about, but there is definitely plenty of waste here."

"Come on, Ace. Let's stop at the bar and see if we can get some good old-fashioned Sarsaparilla."

"Ooh, what's that?" Ace asked, bouncing on her toes.

"It's like coke, but much better," he informed her. After waiting for traffic to pass, they crossed the street, the Doctor leading the way.

Ace was not expecting there to be busy rush-hour traffic in a small town in the old west, so she was taken by surprise when a pushy cowboy on a wild horse galloped past her, missing her by only a few inches. She cried out and spun halfway around, taking a few steps backwards to catch her balance.

"Whoa there," said someone with a deep southern drawl. Two strong arms caught her and nearly picked her up, placing her steadily on her feet.

She turned to look at her savior. He was a rugged man, with his huge hat pushed back so she could see his face. His jaw was covered in stubble that looked so natural he could have been born with it. Ace was aware of the faint scent of alfalfa and leather.

"Thank you," she said, blinking.

"Not a problem," he smiled, displaying a row of amazingly even and clean teeth. He still did not let go of her. "That could have been messy," he looked down at a large pile of manure only a few inches from Ace's new red boots.

The cowboy gave her a little spin, almost like a dance, so that she was standing in front of him. He offered her his hand.

"I'm Hank "Cayenne" Taylor," he said heartily. She took his hand and shook it, beginning to feel more like herself again.

"Ace McShane," she introduced herself. "And this is the Doctor."

"Hey, Doc." Hank shook hands with him and turned back to Ace. "Ace," he said, grinning. "I would have guessed you were from back east with that accent of yours, but if you've already got a nickname like that, I'm guessing you know what you're doing."

"Says the guy who calls himself 'Cayenne' when he's introducing himself," Ace laughed.

"Hey, I didn't pick the name," Hank shrugged. "Some of the guys gave it to me when we were out with the cattle last season."

"Sounds like someone's pretty good at cooking," Ace teased.

"Actually, I ain't too bad. My grandmother was half Ute and she learned me how to cook some mean stuff."

Ace couldn't help herself. She giggled at his terrible grammar and immediately felt bad about it. But Hank just smiled at her and they kept walking, following the Doctor down the street toward the bar.

Ace couldn't stop looking all around her and marveling at the fact that they were actually in the old west. A group of little girls and boys ran past her, pushing a hoola-hoop along the ground with a stick. The girls' long brains streamed out behind them, tied with little muslin bows. They passed a man with a large beard wearing a faded red bandana. Ace expected him to be drinking beer, but instead he was chugging a Cola out of a plastic bottle with the familiar logo on it.

"Professor," Ace said, quickening her pace so she was next to the Doctor. He was just as engrossed in their surroundings as she had been. She tugged his sleeve. "I didn't know there was Coca-Cola in the Old West."

"There wasn't, Ace," the Doctor said.

"But, I just saw…" She looked around, trying to spot the man with the drink, but he had disappeared. "Never mind," she sighed and realized she was probably mistaken. She fell behind the Doctor and Hank came up beside her.

"Stopping in for a drink?" he asked.

"I guess so," Ace shrugged. The Doctor had stopped in front of the bar and stood just outside the doors. "Are we going in?" She asked him. The Doctor took a deep breath and spread his legs, placing his hands on his hips.

"I've always wanted to do this," he said. Then the Doctor pushed the swinging doors open with one heave and stepped inside. He stood in the doorway like a gunslinger, looking around, surveying everything.

A few people at the bar looked over at him curiously, then, seeing that it was a short man with a funny hat, curly hair, and an umbrella on his arm, they went back to their drinks. Ace and Hank stepped in behind him with much less ceremony and went over to sit at the bar. The Doctor swaggered in and sat down next to them. Ace rolled her eyes.

"I'll take a Sarsaparilla," he said, imitating a terrible western drawl. The bartender nodded.

"Make that two," Ace added.

"I'll take a whiskey, Jim," Hank said.

"Comin' right up," Jim said. He opened a metal ice box and took out two bottles that looked like beer. With a quick, practiced hand, he popped off the lids using the edge of the counter and slid them down to the Doctor and Ace.

"Enjoy," the Doctor said, holding his glass to Ace. She tapped her bottle against his and they both took a swig. It was delicious, as the Doctor had promised.

"Tastes a bit like a root-beer float," Ace observed.

Ace took a minute to look around her. The room smelled like old beer and tobacco, and everyone looked a little bit grimy. Groups of men lounged at the tables, playing cards, drinking, talking, smoking, listening to a Walkman.

Ace did a double-take and stared. Sure enough, there was a man and a woman at a table, sharing a pair of headphones, listening intently to a little portable cassette player.

"Professor," Ace said, not taking her eyes off of the couple, afraid they would disappear before she could tell the Doctor what she was seeing. "There weren't cassettes in the old west, were there?" She knew there couldn't have been, but she wasn't certain any longer.

"Of course not, Ace," the Doctor said. "Technology was not nearly advanced enough to support that kind of thing. Besides, they would run out of battery life and no one would be able to get a new set of batteries." Ace tugged on the Doctor's sleeve and he turned to see what she was pointing at.

"Well," he said, placing a hand under his chin and staring at the couple. They were oblivious to the fact that the Doctor was studying them closely. "That's very interesting. That's very interesting indeed."

"And look at that," Ace said, pointing across the room. Someone was sitting in a corner, playing with a Rubik's cube.

Suddenly, Ace was aware that there were modern things everywhere. A barmaid was using a Michael Jackson t-shirt clean off a table, an arcade game that was pushed into a corner made little beeping and ringing noises over the din of conversation. Someone was flipping through a modern magazine.

"Are you sure this is the Wild West?" Ace asked the Doctor. "This looks more like a reenactment, though it's a pretty terrible one if you ask me."

The Doctor turned to Hank who was still sitting with them, not noticing anything out of the ordinary. "What year is this?" he asked the man.

"What year?" Hank looked a little confused, but he answered. "Why, 1887, of course."

"That's what I thought," said the Doctor. "But what is that doing in 1887?" he pointed at the Walkman that the man was wrapping up and hanging on his belt.

"Oh, that's Theodore's newfangled gadget. He says it's from back East, but I think something's strange about it all. Seems like everyone round here suddenly has something new that they say they found, or say that it's from back East. Trouble is, nobody's been back East in a while."

"That's definitely not from the East." The Doctor got up and went over to the man, Theodore, who was helping his girlfriend up from her seat.

"Excuse me, but could I see that?" He pointed at the Walkman on the man's belt.

"Oh this, you like it?" he asked, holding it up so the Doctor could see it better. "It's for sale, if you want it. It's like a kind of music box. Listen." He held up the headphones and turned the volume to maximum.

"I'd just like to look at it," The Doctor said, reaching out to take it, but Theodore drew it back.

"It's nice and new and worth a pretty penny, but I'd be willing to sell it to you for ten dollars."

"That's outrageously overpriced," the Doctor said indignantly. "I could get a Colt pistol for just twice that amount. A music box is not worth that much."

"It's okay, Professor," Ace said, stepping forward. "I got this." She took a wad of cash out of her jeans pockets and handed him two fives. The man took the money eagerly and handed the Walkman to her.

"Ace!" she said, putting the headphones on as Theodore and his girlfriend left the saloon. "That was a great deal." She pressed play and immediately began rocking out to a song by Queen. Almost as soon as it started, the track began to slow and the sound grew deeper and deeper until it stopped. Ace groaned.

"Why, that little twit! He sold it to me with bad batteries." She yanked the headphones off with a sigh.

"Would you like me to get your money back fer you?" Hank offered. "I can go squeeze it out of him, if you like." He winked and she smiled.

"It's okay, I'll just get some new batteries when I stop home again."

The Doctor took the cassette player and headphones from Ace and took his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket. With a buzz, he scanned it and checked the screwdriver.

"It's exactly like a Walkman from 1987, except it's in 1887. It doesn't even have any time vortex residue on it. It's like it was just transported via transmat possibly." The Doctor fiddled with the Walkman.

"Your professor's bit eccentric, ain't he?" Hank asked Ace conspiratorially.

"Oh, he's just curious," Ace told him. "You could say he's a sort of traveling detective who saves the day."

"And you're his partner?" Hank asked, smiling. Ace shrugged modestly.

"You say you've found more of these things?" the Doctor asked Hank, looking up from the Walkman. He already had it disassembled and was rewiring it into something Ace couldn't recognize.

"Oh yeah, people have been finding things all over town. It's like they just show up. Some people try to pretend like the bought it or something, but I know better cuz I've seen it. One moment I'll be tying up my hoss, and the next second there will be some strange gadget on the ground nearby."

The Doctor looked thoughtful and a little concerned.

"I never pick 'em up, though," Hank said. "Something about 'em don't feel right, if you know what I mean?"

"There's nothing wrong with them, in and of themselves, but they're not supposed to be here. Someone is messing with time, and I need to find out who and why. They could be seriously damaging the continuum." The Doctor was suddenly transformed from the happy-go-lucky sightseer, to the seasoned Timelord that he was. He turned to Hank, all business.

"Tell me, Hank, has there been anything else unusual going on?"

"Actually, there has been. Just two days ago, the Sheriff sent out a scouting party for a man who went missing. Lars Jarmon was the fellow. He just got himself a new wife, and poor Missy worried half to death about where he's gone. Nobody can find him anywhere."

"That's terrible," Ace said. "Poor girl."

"I know," Hank sighed. "Come to think of it, more than just Lars have been disappearing. People all over town complaining about how their stuff just goes missing and nobody knows why. It's more than just a misplaced spoon or a sock here and there. People's crockery and water buckets and hats have just gone."

"I wonder if it has anything to do with the things that keep appearing," Ace said.

"It sounds like temporal displacement," the Doctor said. He had been quietly thinking and listening to everything Hank told them.

"You mean time travel?" Hank asked. Ace turned to look at the cowboy with renewed interest. He was cute AND smart.

"Precisely, Hank," the Doctor said. "But accidental, by the look of it. Only an amateur would be so careless. If it is temporal displacement, it's conditional."

"Meaning…" Ace waited for an explanation. Hank answered for the Doctor.

"Meaning that there are rules. When one thing gets sent through time, another thing must replace it."

"Exactly," the Doctor nodded. "Usually it's something of the same mass, or similar mass, depending on the professional level of the equipment. But this looks like a patch-up job to me."

"Now, hang on," Ace said. She turned to Hank. "How do you know about all this stuff?"

"I'm not just a cowboy, Ace." Hank replied. "I graduated from Indiana University with a degree in agricultural sciences and I'm a huge fan of Jules Verne." Ace was impressed. Hank turned to the Doctor. "But, Professor,"

"Doctor," he corrected.

"Doctor, then," Hanks said. "Isn't it all just science fiction? I mean, if we did have time travel in our future, wouldn't there be people from the past and future all over the place on tours and such?"

"You don't have time travel," the Doctor said. "But that doesn't mean that other species don't."

"So, you're trying to tell me you're, what? From another world?"

"He is, I'm not," Ace said.

"I don't believe you," Hank told them frankly. "It's just impossible."

"Here," Ace said, suddenly getting an idea. "Come with me." She took Hank's hand and noticed how warm and calloused it was. It felt nice.

They ran back across the street and behind the store where the Doctor had landed the TARDIS. Ace rounded the corner, grinning excitedly, but came to a sudden stop.

"It's gone!" she cried. She ran into the yard and looked all around, but the TARDIS was nowhere to be found.

"What's gone?"

"The TARDIS," she said. "It's a sort of space-ship." Ace looked back at Hank, fearing the worse. She wouldn't have blamed him if he'd just walked away, writing them both off as lunatics. But he was still standing there, watching her.

"Aha, so they've taken the TARDIS," the Doctor appeared behind Hank. He leaned casually against the side of the store, his hands in his pockets. "But I wonder what they've replaced it with."

"There's nothing here," Ace said. "Just a square in the dirt where it used to be, see?" she pointed and Hank joined her to inspect it.

"Oh, it has probably appeared somewhere else in town. Whatever it is, it'll be big, so we'll find it easily, I should think. Come on, Ace." The Doctor turned around and headed toward the street. He paused and glanced back at Hank. "Are you going to help us search for it?"

"Well, I don't know if I believe all this nonsense about aliens and space-ships, but something strange is going on here, and you two seem like the type to figure it out. I'll help you."

"Oh, thanks," Ace said, feeling more relief than she had expected. She really wanted him to stick around.

"But on one condition," Hank said, turning to Ace. "You have to come to the town dance tonight."

"With you?" Ace asked.

"Well, I'll already be there, helping set everything up, but if you show up, we can pretend like we came together."

"Alright, it's a deal," Ace said. She held out her hand and they shook on it. Hank winked.

"Coming, or not?" the Doctor asked. Ace and Hank followed him down the street. He looked back and forth, checking both sides of the streets. He didn't know exactly what he was looking for, but it had to be large, about the same dimensions as the outer shell of the TARDIS.

They spent nearly two hours searching the town from top to bottom. After the first hour, the Doctor began stopping strangers on the street and asking them if they had seen anything new or unusual recently about the size of an outhouse. Most of the people laughed or walked away quickly. He was about to start knocking on doors, but Ace stopped him to keep from further embarrassment.

"Y'know, it's about time for me to get going. I gotta go help set things up for the dance," Hank said.

"Oh, by the way, where is that taking place?" Ace asked.

"It's out at the Jackson property," Hank said. "It's just a few miles west of town. He's a shepherd and has fields of sheep, so you can't miss it. Starts at five."

"Alright," Ace said, but was distracted by a woman walking past. She had a neon pink and black plastic wristwatch on and was completely oblivious to the fact that it clashed terribly with her blue cotton dress.

"There's another weird thing, Professor," she said, staring. The woman noticed her and turned up her nose disdainfully at Ace's manly clothes.

"So, you'll be there, right?" Hank was reluctantly taking slow steps backwards, eyes still on Ace.

"Oh, yes," Ace said, nodding. "I wouldn't miss it!"

"Great!" Hank spun around and was practically skipping away.


	3. Chapter 3

"Ace, have a look at this," the Doctor said. He was crouched in the bushes beside a pretty townhouse. Ace bent over his shoulder to get a good look.

"Scrape marks, running that way," he pointed to the backyard. "Someone was dragging something very heavy away. It could be what we've been looking for."

The Doctor followed the track through the backyard, between two more houses, and stopped. Beyond the houses the trail led into some small foothills to the north of the town.

"Come on," he took off at a jog, easily following the trail in the dusty earth. There were dry bushes disturbed and cactus pushed aside to make room for whatever had come through the time-rift to replace the TARDIS.

"The people who took this must have really wanted it," Ace said, panting. They had reached the top of a hill and could see the trail leading down the other side.

"And they must be incredibly strong," the Doctor added. "But it looks like the trail ends there, in that cave." He pointed down the hill to a low, but wide opening that could have been mistaken for just a shadowy overhang of the hill.

"Are we going to explore the dark creepy cave, Professor?" Ace asked, grinning with anticipation.

"Oh probably," the Doctor said with nonchalance.

"Ace!" Ace cried, jumping in the air and pumping her fist. With a brilliant flash of light, a laser blasted close by, narrowly missing Ace.

"Get down!" the Doctor cried, grabbing the girl and pulling her to the ground. They lay on their stomachs in the dirt, peering over the crest of the hill. Ace lifted her head for a better look. The Doctor placed his palm on the top of her head and pushed her down again. There was a burst of firepower that passed above their heads and they pressed against the ground, their eyes shut tightly.

The Doctor peeked over the top of the hill much more discreetly than Ace had. They were too far away to see anything useful. The Doctor pulled an odd-looking pair of binoculars out of his endless pockets and looked through them. Everything was tinted red and he zoomed in. The binoculars were infrared, making the entrance of the cave bright enough for the Doctor to see inside. He could see some shapes moving around inside.

"What do you see?"

"Take a look," he replied, passing the binoculars to Ace. She looked through them and looked at the Doctor.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It looks like some humanoids," he told her, taking the binoculars back again. He stared through them without another word. Ace sat next to him quietly for about ten seconds and then she couldn't sit still another moment.

"You know, Doctor, it's getting late. Shouldn't we do something?"

"You want to go to the dance, don't you?" He asked, looking over at her fondly. Ace nodded eagerly.

"Well, go on, then. Here, take this and get yourself something nice to wear. I'll meet you there later, after I've worked some of this out." He handed Ace a coin purse and turned back to the binoculars.

"Thanks, Professor," Ace gave him a quick hug from behind and ran back the way they came. Another shot was fired and she ducked low.

The Doctor didn't glance up, but kept the cave entrance in his sights. He was able to make out two silver figures from whom the shots were fired.

? ? ? ? ?

George Jackson's herd had all been shoved into the same pen (despite what the animal doctor had told him) to make way for the dance preparations. He decided that it wouldn't do too much damage if he put them together for one night. It was important that there was enough room, so he put them all into a pen just behind the house and lay out the wooden dance floor in the field where they had been.

Hank had come around, as he had promised, to help set up the lights. Jim Fennel had wanted to use some new light fixtures he had found that had light bulbs and didn't seem to have any source of power, but Hank had insisted that his way was better. It provided more light and was much more traditional.

Most of the people arrived on time, but wagons kept rolling in for almost an hour after the starting time. Hank stayed near the driveway on the pretense of helping people out of their wagons and welcoming them, but he was distracted the entire time and kept glancing down the road, looking for Ace.

She arrived when he was busy helping a large family unload all of their potluck dishes and he didn't see her until she had come up behind him and cleared her throat. He turned around and was shocked to see how changed she was. She was no longer the "Annie Oakley" figure, but now looked like a true woman.

Ace was wearing a floor length white dress with a square neckline and sleeves that came to her elbows. Red lace lined the neck, sleeves, and hem. Her hair was curled and let down. Hank swallowed and offered her his arm.

"I'm glad you made it," he said quietly, his voice low.

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world," Ace replied softly.

"I couldn't stop thinking about you the entire time I was getting ready," Hank told her. "I never imagined you'd look so nice."

"Thank you," Ace blushed a little. "You don't look so bad yourself."

He led her to join the crowd of people. Catchy fiddle music floated through the night air and the smell of pies and baked goods lingered. Ace's stomach growled and they headed to a table laden with food.

"Have you seen the Doctor anywhere?" Ace asked, looking around at the sea of unfamiliar faces.

"No, but I thought he'd be coming with you, so I may have easily missed him."

"He said he'd meet me here, but he'll probably be late. He's usually late, except when it counts." She laughed.

The music grew louder and men hopped up onto the dance floor, helping their partners up.

"Care to dance?" Hank asked.

"I'd love to," Ace said. He took her hand and they jumped onto the platform. The couples made lines and began a dance that Ace was vaguely familiar with.

Soon she was spinning and laughing, all of her troubles forgotten. All she could see were Hank's brown eyes and his bright smile. He would wrap his arm around her waist and pull her closer than anyone else there. She could feel her heartbeat trying to pound its way out of her chest and Hank's own pulse was racing with hers.

Without warning, a scream echoed across the entire property and was echoed by others. Voices were raised and a gunshot was fired. Ace looked around, bewildered, and Hank reached for his pistol.

"What is it?" Ace asked. "What's going on?" She and Hank jumped down from the dance floor and ran against the wave of people retreating towards the Jackson house. Everyone else was fleeing from something or someone.

"Conta-a-a-ain them. Conta-a-a-ain them. Conta-a-a-ain them." Ace could just understand strange words being bleated out rhythmically. There was the whirr of metallic joints and then the creatures came into view.

Half of George Jackson's herd of sheep were surrounding the people of the town. The sheeps' eyes were glowing red and there was also a red light coming from the center of little satellite dishes rising from their heads. Their movements were quick and jerky.

"Cyber-sheep!" Ace said in wonder. "That's incredible. They look like they've got real wool and everything."

"Stay back!" Hank grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the creatures. He held his gun towards them and shouted for them to stop. "Don't come any closer," he warned.

A figure ran past them in a blur, yelling at the top of his lungs. A crazed cowboy tried to break through the circle of Cyber-sheep by running between two of them, but was frozen in his tracks by a beam coming from a sheep's satellite. He froze, paralyzed for a moment, then disappeared.

Horrified, Ace buried her face against Hank. They would all be vaporized if the Doctor didn't come soon. Ace jumped as Hank fired at the advancing Cyber-sheep. They didn't even react, but kept coming closer, their red eyes glowing menacingly.

? ? ? ? ?

When Ace had left the Doctor to go and get ready for the dance, he was left feeling very melancholy. He was losing her, he could tell. He always had the same feeling when a companion was about to leave, and he had gotten that feeling when Ace had hurried off to meet Hank.

He knew all of his friends left him at some point, some for love, others for peace. Then there were the friends who were taken from him, either by death, or the Timelords, or fate. He never knew which it would be, but he chose not to dwell on it or spend time guessing.

The Doctor turned his attention back to the cave entrance. He had waited silently and patiently after Ace had left. He knew it was a matter of having greater patience than the people inside the cave and if there was one thing the Doctor did not have, it was patience.

So, the Doctor pulled out a pair of headphones from his pocket and put on a track of his favorite jazz music to pass the time. He only had to wait for fifteen minutes. He looked through the binoculars to find the figures gone, hidden deep within the cave.

Stuffing the headphones back into his pocket, the Doctor stealthily climbed the hillside and slid down the short incline toward the cave. No shots were fired, which he took as a sign that they had not seen him. He tiptoed up to the edge of the cave and slipped inside.

The Doctor was not a tall man, but he had to duck to fit inside. His eyes adjusted slowly to the light and he took a few cautious steps forward, knocking a few pebbles aside as he did. He paused, listening for sounds. There was a thud and echo in the distance.

Once he had advanced deeper into the cave, the Doctor found he was able to stand up straight with a couple meters to spare above his head. It made his journey much easier and quicker. In a couple of minutes, the Doctor could see a red light emanating from a cavern. He slowed down, taking care not to make a sound.

"The generator is nearly ready," said a robotic voice. The Doctor cringed as he recognized the sound of Cybermen.

"Do not hurry, there must be no error. The humans will be within range of the Cyber-sheep all night and the displacement process will take little time. All calculations must be exact."

"Affirmative, Controller," replied the first voice.

"How many humans are available for displacement?" the Cyber Controller asked.

"The Cyber-sheep reported 537 humans within range at this time."

"That is sufficient for our purposes," said the Controller. There was silence for a minute and the Doctor took that time to consider what he had heard. His mind was spinning with ideas when the Controller spoke again.

"There is an intruder. Locate and delete."

The loud footsteps of a Cyberman echoed in the cave and the Doctor flattened himself against the cold stone wall. He held his breath and waited as the Cyberman approached. In the deep silence of the cave he could hear the hum of an internal fan inside the robotic body of the Cyberman, keeping it from overheating.

When it was close enough for the Doctor to touch it, he jumped out from his hiding place without a sound and rapped and arm around the Cyberman's neck. The metal held firm as if the Doctor had not even touched it. There was a buzz from his sonic screwdriver and the Cyberman crumpled to the floor at the Doctor's feet.

The Doctor waited and listened for any sign that his attack had been heard, but there was no reaction. He crouched down beside the Cyberman and traced his screwdriver along the crest if its head, causing the casing to crack open. It revealed a brain implanted with wires and a chip. A memory chip, which was exactly what the Doctor had been looking for.

He pointed the sonic at it and made some adjustments, then tilted the head of the Cyberman up. Images flickered on the wall in a projection from the robotic eyes. The Doctor sonicked the headphones Ace had bought earlier that day and tuned them into a frequency so he could have audio.

Projections of Cybermen in late 20th century earth, one hundred years into the future, danced across the wall of the cave. They had a hidden base in what looked like a warehouse, but humans had discovered them. The Doctor swelled with pride as he saw how well UNIT had handled the situation. The Cybermen were all in danger, so they initiated an emergency conditional temporal displacement sequence. Four Cybermen were sent into the past, sending four humans into the future to take their place. Then things went wrong and none of the other Cybermen followed.

For a year, the Cybermen in the Old West labored to create a way for the rest of their army to join them. They stole sheep and converted them into a new kind of Cyber-creature. The only thing they needed was a generator to power the Cyber-sheep. The plan was to replace the humans in the town with Cybermen and continue their invasion plans, only one century early.

All of this became clear to the Doctor within a few seconds as images flickered across the wall. It also became clear to him that the Cybermen now had the power source that they needed. With the displacement of the TARDIS, a large generator had been transported back. Not only that, but it was fully energized with enough time vortex residue to blow up a small moon. The time-energy created by sending the TARDIS, a fully-charged time machine, through time on its own had given the Cybermen more than enough power to complete their plans.

The Doctor pulled the headphones off of his head, leaving them hanging around his neck as he brainstormed all of the possible solutions to the problem. He could reverse the temporal displacement system and send the Cybermen back to the future, but that would leave the technologically advanced Cyber-sheep in 19th century earth. And then there were the holes ripped in time. Pulling the TARDIS back to them would threaten the stability of the entire space-time continuum.

The only other viable option was to destroy the temporal displacer altogether before the Cybermen could make any more advances. But that would leave he and Ace trapped one-hundred years away from the TARDIS and there would still be the problem of the missing people and strange bits of technology.

As he thought these things through, the Doctor was unaware that another Cyberman was sneaking up on him from behind. He suddenly noticed that a fan was blowing behind him, but, as he spun around, the robot brought an arm down on his head and his world went black.


	4. Chapter 4

Ace and Hank were corralled in with the other townsfolk as the Cyber-sheep aimed red lights at them. All around them people were crying and whimpering in fear. Men had their guns out, but none of them were foolish to try shooting after what they had seen the sheep do. No one wanted to be disintegrated next. Except Ace.

She knew there was more to the red satellites than met the eye. She just couldn't believe that a little red light was the end and that was how they were all going to meet their death. If it were, the sheep would have already killed them all. There was something more to it. She was willing to risk her life to see what was on the other side.

"Hey, you!" she screamed. She grabbed an apple out of a tub of water that was used for bobbing and threw it as hard as she could at the nearest sheep. It bounced harmlessly off the side of the creature and the Cyber-sheep didn't even turn to look at her.

Ace didn't like being ignored, especially when she was about to do something daring and brave. She took the tub of water in both hands and heaved its contents onto the sheep.

"Dele-e-e-ete!" the creature bleated. But the light on the satellite flickered and went out. It tried to take a step forward, but the wool covering the robot had soaked up all of the water Ace had thrown and it now weighed twice as much. The mechanisms whirred and the wheels grinded, but the sheep was not going anywhere.

"Ace, lookout!" Hank jumped forward to grab her and pull her out of harm's way, but he was too late. A red light from another sheep engulfed her and she disappeared.

Hank was frozen to the spot, stunned. She was gone, dead. The most incredible woman in his life had appeared out of nowhere only a few hours ago, and she was taken from his life just as suddenly.

"The water," he said, turning to the people around him. "They can't function when their fur soaks up the water. We need more water."

People looked around dumbly, but George Jackson said, "I have a well," and took an empty bucket. The news spread quickly and people were soon emptying bowls of soup and running to the well just out in front of the house. The Cyber-sheep were obviously not meant to trouble-shoot, because they just kept advancing and drawing the circle tighter. Even as pails of water were thrown onto them and absorbed into their wool, they kept trying to complete their mission.

Hank worked with fury, throwing tub after tub onto any sheep that came close to him.

? ? ? ? ?

"Another Cyberman has come through the dimension," reported a Cyberman to his controller. The Doctor groaned and his head lolled back. He struggled to open his eyes and found that he had a throbbing headache. It wasn't helping that he was tied upside down to the generator with thick nylon cables.

"Instruct the Cyber-sheep to transport no more humans until they receive the order," the Cyber-controller said. The Doctor opened his eyes and saw the upside down view of two Cybermen and their Controller working on a make-shift computer and broadcasting system. The Doctor sighed and wriggled his fingers and toes. They were tingling and cold, so he knew he had been upside down for a while.

"The Timelord is waking up," a Cyberman warned.

"Make sure he is secured to the generator. He is saturated in time energy and will be useful as an energy reserve."

The Cyberman walked slowly to the generator and began tugging on the cables that secured the Doctor, pulling them tighter than before. The Doctor grunted in pain.

"Do you have any idea who I am?" he asked. There was a pause as the Controller decided whether or not to answer him.

"You are a Timelord. That is all we need to know."

"But I'm not just any Timelord. Does the name 'The Doctor' mean anything to you?"

The Cyber-controller seemed to hesitate for just a nano-second.

"It is of no consequence," it said.

"Liar," the Doctor said, calling its bluff. "You know very well what happens to anyone who tries to threaten Earth while I'm around. You've seen it in your memory bank. You know you're making a very big mistake by doing this."

"There is no room for error," insisted the Cyber-controller. "We will continue on as planned. Your presence makes no difference except that it provides us with extra energy should we require it."

"But think about it!" the Doctor cried. "You've got all of that information in your memory bank. How hard is it to make a logical conclusion?" He was buying himself time as he worked to get his hands loose of his bonds.

"It is logical to continue on as planned. You are unable to stop us." The Cyber-controller continued pressing buttons.

"Very well," the Doctor said with a sigh. "Can't say I didn't warn you. Now I'll just have to call in the Calvary."

As if on cue, the vworp of the TARDIS filled the cavern, echoing up and down every corridor in the cave, amplified so much that the air seemed to vibrate with its sound.

The TARDIS materialized in the center of the cave and the door swung open to reveal Ace, still in her white gown, holding one of her small homemade grenades.

"I hope you like fireworks," she said, throwing it towards the computer and the Cyber-controller. It exploded with an earsplitting sound and she used the distraction to give her time to run to the Doctor and free him from his bonds. He slid to the ground and rolled over, rubbing dust out of his hair.

"That's my girl," he said brightly, jumping up. "But what did I say about using pyrotechnics?" He winked and she grinned.

"Sorry, Professor, won't happen again."

"Don't speak too soon. How about one more on a delayed timer, just to clear the air of all this technology?"

"You got it," she said. She reached into her bag which was slung over her shoulder and took out a can.

"Should give us about fifteen seconds," she said.

"Let's hope you're right, because this is cutting it close."

Ace pulled the pin out and tossed it towards the generator. It rolled on the floor and came to rest next to it. Then the two of them jumped into the TARDIS and closed the doors quickly behind them. In less than a second, the Doctor was at the console flipping switches and slapping buttons. He stopped to pump a pedal with his foot, then kept going.

"I'm opening up the TARDIS exhaust pipes to allow a release of time energy that should work to reverse the effects of the temporal displacement. When this place explodes, the TARDIS exhaust will mend all the holes the Cybermen have been ripping in time, if we're lucky."

He spoke at lightning speed, all the while pressing buttons and running around the controls. Ace stood back, watching, until the Doctor said, "Hang on," and there was a large jolt and shudder. Ace grabbed onto the nearest chair and held on for dear life.

? ? ? ? ?

The TARDIS materialized peacefully where it had been when they first arrived in town. The time travelers stepped out and Ace had a moment of Déjà vu. The only difference was that it was now dark outside, just as it had been when they had left.

"Did we travel through time?" Ace asked, looking around.

"Only a few minutes into the future," the Doctor said, stepping out and looking up at the night sky. It was full of glittering stars. "The dance is still going. If you'd like, you can go back and pick up where you left off."

"But the Cyber-sheep…"

"All gone," the Doctor said. "They should have gone back when I reversed the process. I saw from the Cyberman's memories that they were all made with parts of technology that came through time."

"That's brill," Ace said. "Let's go have a party!"

? ? ? ? ?

Ace danced the night away with Hank. He was overjoyed to see her and wouldn't have believed it possible, except that he had already seen the impossible that day and he was ready to believe anything she told him.

The Doctor kept to himself and found enjoyment trying a slice of every different homemade pie they had to offer. But things weren't completely back to normal yet.

"Aren't you going to join us?" Ace asked as she leaned against a table next to him.

"No, I don't think so. We have to go soon."

"Go?" Ace's face fell. "Oh, couldn't we just stay for a few more days?" she begged. The Doctor would have loved to tell her yes, even though it meant that he would probably lose her.

"We can't, Ace," he said. "Neither of us belong here."

"I could get used to it," Ace said, looking over at Hank who was clapping along to the music. He saw her watching and waved at her to come over and join him.

"For everything there is a season," the Doctor mused to himself.

"What?" Ace asked. The Doctor put an arm around her shoulder and led her a little ways off, away from the loud music and commotion.

"All of my other companions have left me," the Doctor told her. "I know you will too, and don't argue with me." He held up a hand to stop her protestations. "You know it's true. Someday you'll meet someone and you'll fall in love and you won't want to travel with me anymore. And I understand. It's okay. But today is not that day."

He stopped and turned to face her. "You cannot stay here, Ace. Time here is too delicate. It's already been tampered with so much that one person out of place, and time could collapse on itself. No more time travel here. It's becoming a fixed point. Every hour we spend here stretches time to its limits."

"You knew this when you released the TARDIS exhaust," Ace realized. "You did it on purpose, so that I wouldn't be able to stay here. So I wouldn't leave you!"

"No, Ace, that's not it at all! Before you showed up with the TARDIS I had already made up my mind to destroy the temporal displacer and manually shut down all of the Cybermen and sheep here."

"But… that would have left us stranded here without the TARDIS," Ace said slowly.

"Yes, I know," the Doctor said. "But you would have been happy. And what's a hundred years to a Timelord? I'd eventually get back her back."

"You'd do that for me?" Ace asked, her voice trembling with emotion.

"Of course I would, if I thought it would make things any better. But when you arrived in the TARDIS, I knew there was a way to rescue those four people and undo all the damage. I also knew that, if I had asked you, you would have wanted to do everything you could to bring them back to their families."

Ace thought of the people not far off, dancing and enjoying Doctor was right. It was exactly what she would have done. But it didn't make leaving any easier.

"Come on, let's just go." She hung her head and started off towards town.

"We don't have to go just yet," the Doctor said. "I think time will hold together for one night."

"I have to go now. I'd feel bad staying any longer."

"Then tell him goodbye," the Doctor told her. She went back to the dance floor and the Doctor watched as she whispered something in Hank's ear and they slipped off into the shadows to say goodbye.

? ? ? ? ?

The Doctor had just finished polishing the screen of the outside viewer when Ace opened the TARDIS doors and slipped inside. Her eyes were puffy, but she was glowing with a quiet joy. Hank had said just what she needed to hear to keep going, no matter what lay ahead.

"So, where to next?" asked the Doctor.

"How far can you take me?" she asked.

"What would you say to three BILLION lightyears, Ace McShane?"

"Sounds brilliant!" She grinned.


End file.
